A Democratic candidate for Massachusetts attorney general came to Taunton on Tuesday touting his plan to tackle the heroin and opiate abuse problem that has plagued the city and region.

Warren Tolman, a Watertown lawyer and former state senator, spoke to Taunton Police Chief Edward Walsh and local civic leaders in front of the Taunton Superior Courthouse about the heroin epidemic that has resulted in a dramatic spike in overdoses in the city since the beginning of the year.

Tolman said he likes that Taunton leaders are confronting it head on and not sweeping it under the rug, adding that many communities are ignoring the heroin and opiate abuse problem. Tolman said he would “use the vast authorities of the AG’s office” to help address mental health parity to make sure mental and substance abuse issues are treated appropriately, to promote drug education to young children, and to address prescription drug issues with “big pharma,” especially when it comes to emerging painkillers like Zohydro ER, which may lead to more drug abuse.

“Zohydro is five times more potent than Oxys that are out there today,” Tolman said. “There is no way in the world we should be allowing that to come out in non tamper-resistant form. I’d like to use whatever powers I could as attorney general to either stop it from coming out … or try to slow down the prescribing of the drugs by physicians in Massachusetts and, frankly, in the region working with other attorneys general to do what we can to slow this surge down.”

Tolman also said it’s important to get investigators together from multiple divisions within the AG’s office to stop health insurance fraud, enforcing existing laws related to illegal dealing of prescription painkillers to slow down the epidemic. “It’s all about little pieces adding up to save lives,” he said.

There have been 123 heroin overdoses in Taunton so far this year, including seven deaths, according to Taunton Police Department.

Tolman received the endorsement of Taunton Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr. during his visit to the Silver City. Tolman has also received endorsements from four former attorneys general, as well as Fall River Mayor William Flanagan, State Rep. Patricia Haddad, D-Somerset, and former Taunton Mayor Robert Nunes.

“He will be our lead advocate in the fight against opiate drug abuse,” Hoye said. I’ve extensively reviewed his four-point plan and it’s a sound and applicable one. … Warren is a tireless worker and the right person for this job.”

Tolman is running against Democratic candidate Maura Healey, the former bureau chief in Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office. Healey has received endorsements from state senators Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton; Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst; and Dan Wolf, D-Harwich. Recently, Republican John Miller, of Winchester, who made a career as an attorney practicing construction law and taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has joined the race.

Page 2 of 2 - Asked about his position on the future of Taunton State Hospital, and whether it could be used for substance abuse or continued mental health treatment, Tolman said, “I don’t know if that’s the best use” or not.

“The important thing," he said, "this is not a problem that’s particular to Taunton or Fall River or New Bedford, it’s a problem that affects every part of the state. We need to make sure beds are dispersed throughout communities statewide and deal with it comprehensively. We have a long way to go.”